Burnham Montessori School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are eager to learn and develop at this welcoming setting. Leaders and staff create an ambitious and sequenced curriculum that focuses well on preparing children to develop essential life skills. This includes, children learning to manage their self-care, increase their vocabulary and master mathematical concepts. Children behave very well, showing that they understand the rules and boundaries staff teach them. This helps to create a calm and productive learning environment.

Children arrive with confidence, ready to learn and fully aware of what is expected of them. They place their belongings in the cloakroom, wash their hands and quickly get busy choosing pre-prepared trays with various real objects. During this time, children practise and master a variety of skills, such as pouring water from a small teapot to cups. When they finish, they put their trays back on the shelves, without prompting. Leaders and staff are always on hand if children ask for help. Children demonstrate increasing manual dexterity, such as independently using cutters to make play dough shapes.

Leaders and staff offer a wealth of experiences that build on children's interests. Children benefit from regular outings, such as nature walks in the nearby woods. They learn about different animals first-hand. For instance, children use binoculars to spot different birds and impressively remember the names, such as a chaffinch. Staff expand on these valuable learning opportunities. For example, they make bird feeders with children and set up tables with natural items and relevant information books. Children keenly apply the new words they have learned. In this way, children develop a good understanding of the world around them.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• Leaders have a thorough knowledge and understanding of how young children learn and develop. They design a curriculum with a strong emphasis on developing children's conversational skills. On the whole, staff actively listen to children share their thoughts and respond with interest. For example, at snack time, children talk about their small lunch boxes and that they will need larger backpacks for their eventual move to school.
• Leaders and staff help children develop a love of being active outdoors. They develop strong large-muscle skills when running and using their legs and feet to make ride-on cars move in tight spaces. Staff provide interesting and inviting play areas that actively engage children. For example, children follow a recipe in the outdoor role-play area using sand, acorns, twigs and leaves to make pies. They offer their 'pies' to others, explaining that the leaves make these 'extra yummy'.
• Children share their thoughts and ideas with staff as they participate in a variety of role-play scenarios. This is evident when pretending that their 'car' needs petrol. Staff take this opportunity to ask questions, such as 'do you need diesel or petrol?' Children draw on their prior knowledge of seeing their parents fill up cars with fuel. Leaders and staff cleverly interweave early mathematics during these times. They ask, 'how much petrol will you need?' Children think carefully and say '300', knowing the answer is a number.
• Leaders and staff support children's literacy skills effectively, such as developing children's love for books. Children avidly choose stories for staff to read to them. They listen attentively and respond appropriately to questions staff ask them about the story. Children have ample opportunities to practise and refine their mark-making skills. For example, in the garden, they show increasing control when using writing equipment as they draw objects of their choice. Staff encourage children to find plastic letters in their name. Children jump with excitement when they see their whole name on display.
• Leaders recognise the importance of promoting staff's well-being. This helps to keep staff morale high. Staff report that they feel supported and valued. Leaders clearly identify specific training needs of staff and put together personalised programmes of professional development. However, they do not then fully support staff to put into practice what they have learned. This leads to some inconsistencies remaining in the quality of teaching. For instance, although some staff participate in training to help maximise children's communication and language skills, they do not consistently help children's learning move forward to give more detailed responses.
• Leaders and staff form trusted relationships with parents. They keep parents informed of their children's progress and development. Parents feel that their children are prepared well for school, particularly in their personal, social and emotional development. Leaders highly value parent's input and opinions about the education and care their children receive and actively encourage parents for feedback.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• focus more precisely on supporting staff in their professional development to raise the quality of their curriculum delivery to a consistently high standard.